Method of preparing a fiber filament capable of being identified, and a method of identifying the fiber filament

ABSTRACT

A composite fiber filament is made by combining an unordinary fiber filament into an ordinary fiber filament, mixing two types of fibers or blending filaments of 38 mm and 51 mm. The composite fiber filament is identified under a microscope by observing the characteristics of the above three methods of making the composite fiber. The composite fiber filament made as such will not lead to environmental unfriendly behavior such as damaging the natural environment. By using yarn including this composite fiber filament, fabric pieces or garments can be tracked of which fiber suppliers they are originated from, thereby providing an easy way of tracking and monitoring during the entire process from fiber supply to the release of finished garment products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the technical field of fiber spinning,and more specifically relates to a preparation method or manufacturingtechnique composite fiber filament.

In fiber spinning industry and generally in textile industry nowadays,there are numerous manufacturers and companies from raw material supplyto garment making. Different manufacturers and companies have differenttechnical abilities and social responsibilities. Therefore, it isnecessary to perform effective tracking and monitoring throughout theentire process from fiber spinning up to the release of the finishedgarment product, so as to prevent malicious behaviors like damaging theenvironment or faking a high end product by a poor quality product atany stage during the garment making process. Also, effective trackingand monitoring can provide evidence for tracing responsibility in caseeconomic disputes happen due to these malicious behaviors. However,means or measures for tracking, monitoring and tracing responsibilityare so far not available in the current fiber spinning industry andgenerally in textile industry nowadays.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforesaid disadvantages now present in the prior art, thepresent invention provides a method of preparing a fiber filamentcapable of being identified, and a method of identifying the fiberfilament. The fiber filament of the present invention can be easilyproduced with easy steps of production. Also, the method of identifyingthe fiber filament is also easy and simple. Thus, the present inventioncan effectively help raw material suppliers track and monitor theproduct quality.

The present invention has the following technical scheme:

A method of preparing a fiber filament capable of being identifiedaccording to the present invention, wherein the fiber filament comprisesan ordinary fiber filament having a circular cross section, and anunordinary fiber filament having a Y-shaped or plus-shaped crosssection; an amount of the ordinary fiber filament being used to anamount of the unordinary fiber filament being used is 95%:5%; theordinary fiber filament and the unordinary fiber filament are blendedtogether by a spinning machine to form a composite fiber filament. Toidentify the composite fiber filament, cut the composite fiber filament,use a microscope to observe a cross section of the composite fiberfilament to identify whether the unordinary fiber filament having the Yshape cross section or the plus-shape cross section exists in thecomposite fiber filament; the composite fiber filament is thereforebeing identified and distinguished from a common fiber filament;alternatively, use the microscope to observe parallel surfaces of thecomposite fiber filament; since a light refractive rate of theunordinary fiber filament having the Y shape cross section or theplus-shape cross section is higher than that of the ordinary fiberfilament having the circular cross section, existence of the unordinaryfiber filament can be identified by a difference in glossiness betweenthe ordinary fiber filament and the unordinary fiber filament in thecomposite fiber filament; accordingly, the composite fiber filament canbe identified and distinguished from the common fiber filament.

Further, an ordinary spinneret corresponding to the ordinary fiberfilament and an unordinary spinneret corresponding to the unordinaryfiber filament are mounted together on the spinning machine to produceand obtain the composite fiber filament in one step.

A method of preparing a fiber filament capable of being identifiedaccording to the present invention, wherein melt spinning is performed,that is, polyester fiber and polyamide fiber in a ratio of 100%:0.5-1%in terms of amount being used are mixed to form a polymer in a hot meltextruder; a jet nozzle of the hot melt extruder gives out a jet ofcomposite fiber filament; staining test is used for identification ofthe composite fiber filament; the staining test comprises placing aproduct made by common fiber filaments currently available in the marketand a product made by the composite fiber filaments respectively into astaining agent for 30 seconds to 1 minute, taking the products out ofthe staining agent and rinse the products with water; observing theproducts under a microscope and it will be noticed that different fibermaterials will be stained with different colors. Accordingly, thecomposite fiber filament can be identified and distinguished from acommon fiber filament. The staining agents used by the staining testinclude Shirley colorant, iodine and potassium iodide colorant and No. 1colorant.

A method of preparing a fiber filament capable of being identifiedaccording to the present invention, wherein melt spinning is performed,that is, polyester fiber and polyamide fiber in a ratio of 100%:0.5-1%in terms of amount being used are mixed to form a polymer in a hot meltextruder; a jet nozzle of the hot melt extruder gives out a jet ofcomposite fiber filament; after that, the composite fiber filament iscut into sections A each having a length of 38 mm and sections B eachhaving a length of 51 mm; a polymer is formed by mixing sections A andsections B according to a ratio of 80-90%:10-20% in terms of amountbeing used; use the resulted polymer to produce yarn so that the yarnproduced contain the polymer. During identification, use a microscope toobserve and measure whether characteristics of section A and section Bexist in the yarn. Accordingly, the yarn comprising said polymer can beidentified and distinguished from a common yarn.

The present invention has the following beneficial advantages: Acomposite fiber filament according to the present invention is made bycombining an unordinary fiber filament into an ordinary fiber filament,mixing two types of fibers or blending filaments of 38 mm and 51 mm. Thecomposite fiber filament is identified of its source under a microscopeby observing the characteristics of the above three methods making thecomposite fiber. This method of identification is simple and easy, andwill not lead to environmental unfriendly behavior such as damaging thenatural environment while making this kind of composite fiber filament.By using yarn including this kind of composite fiber filament, fabricpieces or garments can be traced back and identified of which fibersuppliers they are originated from. Therefore, the present inventionprovides an easy way of tracking and monitoring during the entireprocess from fiber supply to the release of finished garment products.As such, malicious behaviors like damaging the environment or faking ahigh end product by a poor quality product at any stage during thegarment making process cannot be evaded from tracking and tracing. Also,effective tracking and monitoring can provide evidence for tracingresponsibility in case economic disputes happen due to these maliciousbehaviors. The composite fiber filament of the present invention can beeasily produced with easy steps of production. Also, the method ofidentifying the composite fiber filament is also easy and simple. Thus,the present invention can effectively help raw material suppliers trackand monitor the product quality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of an ordinary circular fiber filament,and a sectional view of a circular nozzle for producing the ordinarycircular fiber filament.

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of an unordinary fiber filament having a Yshape, and a sectional view of a Y shaped nozzle for producing theunordinary fiber filament having the Y shape.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of an unordinary fiber filament having aplus-shape, and a sectional view of a plus-shaped nozzle for producingthe unordinary fiber filament having the plus shape.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a composite fiber filament by blending theunordinary fiber filament having the Y shape and the ordinary circularfiber filament.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a composite fiber filament by blending theunordinary fiber filament having the plus-shape and the ordinarycircular fiber filament.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiment 1

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the fiber filament capable of being identifiedaccording to the present invention comprises an ordinary fiber filament1 having a circular cross section, and an unordinary fiber filament 2having a Y-shaped or plus-shaped cross section; an amount of theordinary fiber filament being used to an amount of the unordinary fiberfilament being used is 95%:5%; the ordinary fiber filament and theunordinary fiber filament are blended together by a spinning machine toform a composite fiber filament 3.

The composite fiber filament 3 is obtained by melt blending of theordinary fiber filament 1 and the unordinary fiber filament 2. As shownin FIG. 1, the ordinary fiber filament 1 has a circular cross section.The ordinary fiber filament 1 is generally obtained through a jet offilament from a circular nozzle 4 of the spinning machine. As shown inFIGS. 2-3, the unordinary fiber filament 2 having a Y shape crosssection or a plus-shape cross section is obtained through a jet offilament from Y shaped nozzle 5 or a plus-shaped nozzle 6 of thespinning machine respectively.

In actual implementation, an ordinary spinneret corresponding to theordinary fiber filament 1 and an unordinary spinneret corresponding tothe unordinary fiber filament 2 are mounted together on the spinningmachine to produce and obtain the composite fiber filament 3 in one stepso as to increase production efficiency. In other words, the circularnozzle 4 is provided on the ordinary spinneret, and the Y-shaped nozzle5 or the plus-shaped nozzle 6 are provided on the unordinary spinneret.During operation, the spinning machine will give out both jets ofordinary fiber filament 1 and unordinary fiber filament 2, and then theordinary fiber filament 1 and the unordinary fiber filament 2 will mixto create the composite fiber filament 3. In other words, the spinningmachine being used is a kind of spinning machine with blending function,which can be called a textile fiber blender, which is a common type ofmachine being used in fiber spinning industry and in general in textileindustry. The present invention achieves its purpose by simultaneouslyproviding both the ordinary spinneret and unordinary spinneret on acommonly available textile fiber blender.

The composite fiber filament 3 obtained according to the presentinvention comprises the ordinary fiber filament 1 having a circularcross section and the unordinary fiber filament 2 having a Y shape crosssection, or comprises the ordinary fiber filament 1 having a circularcross section and the unordinary fiber filament 2 having a plus-shapecross section. Different unordinary fiber filaments have differentthicknesses, different frictional coefficients, different bendingproperties and different fiber strengths etc. The present inventionproposes a ratio of 95%:5% for the amount of ordinary fiber filament 1being used and the amount of unordinary fiber filament 2 being used.This ratio is set for the purposes of preventing excessive change ofstyle of the subsequently made textile product, and preventing thepotential risks of the subsequent use of the product due to theinfluence of weaving efficiency because of the unordinary changes of thecross sections of the filaments during weaving process of the filaments.

To identify the filament, cut the composite fiber filament 3, use amicroscope to observe the cross section of the composite fiber filament3 to identify whether the unordinary fiber filament 2 having a Y shapecross section or a plus-shape cross section exists in the compositefiber filament 3. The composite fiber filament 3 is therefore beingidentified and distinguished from a common fiber filament.

Alternatively, use the microscope to observe parallel surfaces of thecomposite fiber filament 3. Since the light refractive rate of theunordinary fiber filament 2 having a Y shape cross section or aplus-shape cross section is higher than that of the ordinary fiberfilament 1 having a circular cross section, existence of the unordinaryfiber filament 2 can be identified by a difference in glossiness betweenthe ordinary fiber filament 1 and the unordinary fiber filament 2 in thecomposite fiber filament 3. Accordingly, the composite fiber filament 3can be identified and distinguished from a common fiber filament.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, melt spinning is performed. Polyester fiber andpolyamide fiber in a ratio of 100%:0.5-1% in terms of amount being usedare mixed to form a polymer in a hot melt extruder. A jet nozzle of thehot melt extruder gives out a jet of composite fiber filament. Thecomposite fiber filament made according to this ratio will not affectthe overall ingredients subsequently applied to the fabric, and will notaffect the quality of spinning, and also will not affect subsequentstages of weaving and garment manufacturing. Polyester fiber has amelting point of 215-220° C. Polyamide fiber has a melting point of255-260° C.

Staining test is used for identification of the composite fiberfilament. Place a product made by common fiber filaments currentlyavailable in the market and a product made by the composite fiberfilaments respectively into a staining agent for 30 seconds to 1 minute,take the products out of the staining agent and rinse the products withwater; observe the products under a microscope and it will be noticedthat different fiber materials will be stained with different colors.Accordingly, the composite fiber filament can be identified anddistinguished from a common fiber filament.

The staining agents used by the staining test include Shirley colorant,iodine and potassium iodide colorant and No. 1 colorant. Per unit of theiodine and potassium iodide colorant comprises the followingingredients: iodine 20 g, saturated potassium iodide solution 100 ml;these two ingredients form a unit of the iodine and potassium iodidecolorant after mixing them together. Per unit of the No. 1 colorant hasthe following ingredients: disperse yellow (SE-6GFL) 3 g, cationic red(X-GFL) 2 g, direct fast blue (B2RL) 8 g and distilled water 1000 g;these four ingredients form a unit of the No. 1 colorant by mixing themtogether. During actual use, per unit of the No. 1 colorant has to bediluted 5 times with water before use. Shirley colorant is a commoncolorant used in the textile industry and known to a person skilled inthis field of art, and so will not be described in detail herein.

As shown in the table below, after this kind of composite fiber filamentis used for blending yarn or fabric, existence of this composite fiberfilament in the yarn or fabric can be identified according to differentcolors resulted from the staining test.

Iodine and Shirley potassium iodide No. 1 Name of material colorantcolorant colorant Polyester fiber Light red Not stained Ruby polyamidefiber Pale yellow Blackish brown Garnet red Cotton blue Not stained GreyGlue Purplish red Blackish blue-grey cyan

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, melt spinning is performed. Polyester fiber andpolyamide fiber in a ratio of 100%:0.5-1% in terms of amount being usedare mixed to form a polymer in a hot melt extruder. A jet nozzle of thehot melt extruder gives out a jet of composite fiber filament. Afterthat, the composite fiber filament is cut into sections A each having alength of 38 mm and sections B each having a length of 51 mm; a polymeris formed by mixing sections A and sections B according to a ratio of80-90%:10-20% in terms of amount being used; use the resulted polymer toproduce yarn so that the yarn produced contain the polymer.

During identification, use a microscope to observe and measure whethercharacteristics of section A and section B exist in the yarn.Accordingly, the yarn comprising said polymer can be identified anddistinguished from a common yarn.

In the present embodiment, sections A and sections B form a polymerfirst and this polymer is then used to produce yarn in order to obtainthe required yarn. Polyester fiber is known to be susceptible to pillingon garment surface. The shorter the polyester fiber is, the easier thepilling will occur. Longer polyester fiber can strengthen the fiber andthus causes less pilling. However, longer polyester fiber will produce apiece of fabric overly hard and not soft enough. The present inventionovercomes the disadvantage of polyester fiber caused by its own naturalproperty without affecting too much the texture of the fabric produced,and at the same time the source of fiber can be identified by the lengthof fiber. To attain the above objects, the present invention usessections A each having a length of 38 mm and sections B each having alength of 51 mm at a ratio of 80-90%:10-20% in terms of amount beingused. As such, the pilling problem on the fabric can be effectivelysolved, and the strength of the composite fiber filament is increased.Depending on different contents in the raw materials used for blending,and the difference in ratio of the raw materials being used, strength ofthe composite fiber filament can be increased by 1.5%-5%. Duringidentification, use a microscope to observe and measure fiber lengths toidentify and distinguish the composite fiber filament from a commonfiber filament.

What should be noted is that, during implementation of the presentinvention, the technique relating to the unordinary cross section asdescribed in embodiment 1, the technique relating to mixed fiber asdescribed in embodiment 2 and the technique relating to the blending byusing sections A and B can be independently executed for observation offiber under a microscope so as to identify and distinguish the source offiber, fabric or garment. Alternatively, the three embodiments can beapplied to a product at the same time so that fiber is observed througha microscope according to all the three embodiments to identify anddistinguish the source of fiber, fabric or garment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of preparing a fiber filament capable ofbeing identified and a method of identifying the fiber filament, whereinthe fiber filament comprises an ordinary fiber filament having acircular cross section, and an unordinary fiber filament having aY-shaped or plus-shaped cross section; the method of preparing a fiberfilament capable of being identified comprises the following steps:setting an amount of the ordinary fiber filament being used to an amountof the unordinary fiber filament being used as 95%:5%, and then blendingthe ordinary fiber filament and the unordinary fiber filament togetherby a spinning machine to form a composite fiber filament; the method ofidentifying the fiber filament comprises the following steps: cuttingthe composite fiber filament, and then using a microscope to observe across section of the composite fiber filament to identify whether theunordinary fiber filament having the Y shape cross section or theplus-shape cross section exists in the composite fiber filament; thecomposite fiber filament is therefore being identified and distinguishedfrom a common fiber filament; alternatively, using the microscope toobserve parallel surfaces of the composite fiber filament; since a lightrefractive rate of the unordinary fiber filament having the Y shapecross section or the plus-shape cross section is higher than that of theordinary fiber filament having the circular cross section, existence ofthe unordinary fiber filament is identified by a difference inglossiness between the ordinary fiber filament and the unordinary fiberfilament in the composite fiber filament; accordingly, the compositefiber filament is identified and distinguished from the common fiberfilament.
 2. The method of preparing a fiber filament capable of beingidentified and the method of identifying the fiber filament as in claim1, wherein an ordinary spinneret corresponding to the ordinary fiberfilament and an unordinary spinneret corresponding to the unordinaryfiber filament are mounted together on the spinning machine to produceand obtain the composite fiber filament in one step.
 3. A method ofpreparing a fiber filament capable of being identified and a method ofidentifying the fiber filament, wherein the method of preparing thefiber filament comprises melt spinning, that is, mixing polyester fiberand polyamide fiber in a ratio of 100%:0.5-1% in terms of amount beingused to form a polymer in a hot melt extruder, and then giving out a jetof composite fiber filament from a jet nozzle of the hot melt extruder;the method of identifying the fiber filament comprises staining test,that is, placing a product made by common fiber filaments currentlyavailable in the market and a product made by the composite fiberfilaments respectively into a staining agent for 30 seconds to 1 minute,taking the products out of the staining agent and rinsing the productswith water; observing the products under a microscope, and it will benoticed that different fiber materials will be stained with differentcolors; accordingly, the composite fiber filament is identified anddistinguished from a common fiber filament; the staining agent used bythe staining test includes Shirley colorant, iodine and potassium iodidecolorant or No. 1 colorant.
 4. A method of preparing a fiber filamentcapable of being identified and a method of identifying the fiberfilament, wherein the method of preparing the fiber filament comprisesmelt spinning, that is, mixing polyester fiber and polyamide fiber in aratio of 100%:0.5-1% in terms of amount being used to form a polymer ina hot melt extruder; giving out a jet of composite fiber filament from ajet nozzle of the hot melt extruder; after that, cutting the compositefiber filament into multiple sections A each having a length of 38 mmand multiple sections B each having a length of 51 mm; mixing sections Aand sections B according to a ratio of 80-90%:10-20% in terms of amountbeing used to form a second polymer; using the resulted second polymerto produce yarn so that the yarn produced contain the second polymer;the method of identifying the fiber filament comprises using amicroscope to observe and measure whether characteristics of section Aand section B exist in the yarn; accordingly, the yarn comprising saidsecond polymer is identified and distinguished from a common yarn.